scholarly journals Editor's Introduction

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. v-viii
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Migration Background ◽  
Substantial Variation ◽  
World War ◽  
Modern Germany ◽  
German Citizenship ◽  
Ethnic Germans ◽  
History Of

Despite decades of official denial, modern Germany has always been acountry of immigration. From Poles migrating to the Ruhr in the late nineteenthcentury, to German refugees and expellees after World War II, toItalians and Greeks in the 1950s, to ethnic Germans from the formerSoviet Union and refugees from Bosnia in the 1990s, the country has along history of attracting newcomers. In fact, according to the recentlyreleased 2011 census data, approximately 19 percent of the Federal Republic’spopulation of around 80 million has a “migration background.”1 Ofcourse, this national average masks substantial variation at the state or citylevel—places like Hamburg, Berlin and Baden-Württemberg have shares ofresidents with such a background of a quarter or more, whereas the easternLänder have proportions under 5 percent. This sizeable population isalso very different than a generation ago—increasingly rooted and diverse:60 percent of this group has German citizenship and about half of this subgroupwas born in Germany. Regarding countries of origin or ancestry,17.9 percent have origins in Turkey, 13.1 percent in Poland, and about 8.7percent in both Russia and Kazakhstan.

Eastern Europe in the Global History of Decolonization

2018 ◽  
pp. 350-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Mark ◽  
Quinn Slobodian
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
World War I ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
World War ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
New States ◽  
History Of ◽  
European Colonialism ◽  
The Cold War

This chapter places Eastern Europe into a broader history of decolonization. It shows how the region’s own experience of the end of Empire after the World War I led its new states to consider their relationships with both European colonialism and those were struggling for their future liberation outside their continent. Following World War II, as Communist regimes took power in Eastern Europe, and overseas European Empires dissolved in Africa and Asia, newly powerful relationships developed. Analogies between the end of empire in Eastern Europe and the Global South, though sometimes tortured and riddled with their own blind spots, were nonetheless potent rhetorical idioms, enabling imagined solidarities and facilitating material connections in the era of the Cold War and non-alignment. After the demise of the so-called “evil empire” of the Soviet Union, analogies between the postcolonial and the postcommunist condition allowed for further novel equivalencies between these regions to develop.

Bibliographic Article: Baltic Émigré Publishing and Scholarship in the Western World

1988 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-241
Author(s):  
David Crowe
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Western World ◽  
Ethnic Communities ◽  
World War ◽  
The West ◽  
Academic Field ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
History Of ◽  
To Come

The Soviet absorption of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania during World War II caused hundreds of thousands of Baltic immigrants to come to the West, where they established strong, viable ethnic communities, often in league with groups that had left the region earlier. At first, Baltic publishing and publications centered almost exclusively on nationalistic themes that decried the loss of Baltic independence and attacked the Soviet Union for its role in this matter. In time, however, serious scholarship began to replace some of the passionate outpourings, and a strong, academic field of Baltic scholarship emerged in the West that dealt with all aspects of Baltic history, politics, culture, language, and other matters, regardless of its political or nationalistic implications. Over the past sixteen years, these efforts have produced a new body of Baltic publishing that has revived a strong interest in Baltic studies and has insured that regardless of the continued Soviet-domination of the region, the study of the culture and history of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania will remain a set fixture in Western scholarship on Eastern Europe.

scholarly journals Cultural memory in Lithuanian periodical press during World War II

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 95-114
Author(s):  
Titas Krutulys
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Periodical Press ◽  
World War ◽  
Soviet Occupation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Historical Periods

During World War II Lithuania was ruled by three completely different political regimes. In the first year Lithuania was authoritarian state ruled by group of nationalists, in 1940 Lithuania was occupied by Soviet Union and in 1941 State was occupied by Nazi Germany. All these political powers was undemocratic and propagated their ideologies. One of the most important aspect of every ideology is to suggest new concept of time. This change of perception of time could be seen in the change of cultural memory. Article try to analyze this change using the most popular Lithuanian periodical press of the period. This research analyzed main historical periods and the most popular themes represented in the main newspapers. Using theories of Anthony D. Smith and Raoul Girardet research showed what historical periods was seen positively and what negatively, what was main historical heroes and enemies; also how foreign history was represented in the periodical press. The quantitative content analysis showed that while representations of history in the so called independent Lithuania and in Lithuania occupied by Nazis was quite similar, historical representations during first Soviet occupation was unique. Qualitative content analysis showed that there was three very different paradigms of cultural memories, represented in periodical press. Lithuanian nationalist mostly tried to promote Lithuanian medieval times and especially Lithuanian dukes and historical capital Vilnius, also they tried to justify their politics creating myth of great welfare during their rule. They praised Soviet history, criticized Poland and poles, but wrote about most of the countries quite neutral. During Soviet occupation all Lithuanian history was harshly criticized and showed as negative times, this regime promoted only few Lithuanian heroes who died young or was known for their left wing politics. Main historical past represented in the newspapers was history of Soviet Union, other countries was ignored. Main enemies of Soviets was Lithuanian gentry, and Lithuanian rulers of the past. During Nazi occupation there was more Lithuanian national history than German history, but the main appreciable historical periods was Lithuanian prehistory and the 19th Century. Regime promoted history of Lithuanian culture and language, but tried to ignore Lithuanian state. Foreign history was mostly binary – propaganda criticized Soviet Union as well as Tsarist Russia, USA and United Kingdom, but appreciated history of Italy, Japan, Finland, Turkey, Spain etc. Main historical enemies were of course Bolsheviks and Jews.

Towards a Bipolar World. Book Review of ‘The Second World War and the Transformation of International Relations: From Multipolarity to a Bipolar World’ edited by L.S. Belousov and A.S. Manykin

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 228-234
Author(s):  
V. I. Batyuk
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
International Relations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
World War ◽  
History Of ◽  
High Level

In 2020 the whole world commemorated the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II — the most horrifi c war in the human history. However, the celebration of the victory over fascism was overshadowed by the growing tension among the leading actors of contemporary international relations. In this context, a high level of responsibility falls on the academic community to rebuff politically motivated attempts to rewrite history and revise the outcomes of this war. The book under review could make an important contribution to that end. The book provides a comprehensive and balanced analysis of the history of World War II. The reviewer emphasizes that rather than providing a detailed examination of military operations the authors focused on their impact on the development of the international relations system. In particular, the book provides a detailed picture of the complex interactions within the strategic triangle — the Soviet Union, the United States, and Great Britain — both during the war and in the years after the war. As a result, the book under review not only provides an opportunity to better understand the key trends in relationships between the Great Powers during the war, but also sheds new light on the origins of the bipolar system and the beginning of the Cold War. The reviewer concludes that, despite sometimes excessively Eurocentric approach of the authors, this book is a seminal work on the history of World War II and a major event for the Russian academic community. As such, this book can be recommended to both professional historians and a wider audience.

The Anti-Hitler Coalition: From Enmity to Military Alliance — A Formula for Success

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 7-44
Author(s):  
A. Yu. Borisov
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
World Order ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nazi Germany ◽  
World War ◽  
Military Alliance ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Red Army ◽  
History Of

It is unfortunate to note again today that World War II did not end, it continues in the form of the war of memory. Politicians and scholars who stand as ideological successors of collaborators are trying to rewrite the history of those tragic days, to downplay the role of the Soviet Union in the victory over fascism. They try to revive certain political myths, which have been debunked long ago, that the Soviet Union and the Nazi Germany bear equal responsibility for the outbreak of World War II, that the Red Army did not liberate Eastern Europe but ‘occupied’ it. In order to combat these attempts it is necessary to examine once again a turbulent history of the inter-war period and, particularly, the reasons why all attempts to form a united antifascist front had failed in the 1930s, but eventually led to the formation of the anti-Hitler coalition.The paper focuses on a complex set of political considerations, including cooperation and confrontation, mutual suspicions and a fervent desire to find an ally in the face of growing international tensions, which all together determined the dynamics of relations within a strategic triangle of the Soviet Union — the United States — Great Britain in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The paper shows how all attempts to establish a collective security system during the prewar period had shattered faced with the policy of appeasement, which allowed the Nazi Germany to occupy much of Europe. Only the Soviet Union’s entry into the war changed the course of the conflict and made a decisive contribution to the victory over fascist aggressors. The author emphasizes that at such crucial moment of history I.V. Stalin, F.D. Roosevelt and W. Churchill raised to that challenge, demonstrating realism, common sense and willingness to cooperate. Although within the anti-Hitler coalition there was a number of pending issues, which triggered tensions between the Allies, their leaders managed to move beyond old grievances, ideological differences and short-term political interests, to realize that they have a common strategic goal in the struggle against Nazism. According to the author, this is the foundation for success of the anti-Hitler coalition and, at the same time, the key lesson for contemporary politicians. The very emergence of the anti-Hitler coalition represented a watershed in the history of the 20th century, which has determined a way forward for the whole humanity and laid the foundations for the world order for the next fifty years.

Local labor markets and the persistence of population shocks: evidence from West Germany, 1939–1970

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian T Braun ◽  
Anica Kramer ◽  
Michael Kvasnicka ◽  
Philipp Meier
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Census Data ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Local Labor Markets ◽  
World War ◽  
Ethnic Germans

Abstract This article studies the persistence of a large, unexpected and regionally very unevenly distributed population shock, the inflow of eight million ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe to West Germany after World War II. Using detailed census data from 1939 to 1970, we show that the shock proved persistent within local labor markets, but was largely reversed between labor markets. These results show that the choice of spatial units can significantly affect the estimated persistence of population shocks. They can thus help to explain why previous studies on the persistence of population shocks reached conflicting conclusions.

The treasure of the Berlin State museums and its allied capture: remarks and questions

1998 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 308-341
Author(s):  
K Goldmann
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
Documentary Evidence ◽  
World War ◽  
Art Objects ◽  
Art Works ◽  
German Nation ◽  
History Of

Following the disclosure of archives in the former Soviet Union detailing art works taken from Germany at the end of World War II, it is now possible to reconstruct more accurately a history of those objects removed from Germany but never returned. Inconsistencies in the documentary evidence concerning both the location of objects sent West from Berlin and other repositories (particularly in the last few months of the war) and the number of objects returned to Germany indicate that the United States may have been involved in an unofficial policy of claiming as war booty art treasures form the conquered German nation. This article attempts to detail some of those inconsistencies by comparing what is known of the inventories of German museums before the war, the movements of art objects and repositories used during the war, and the inventories of the German museums today, in order to reconstruct some of this missing pact.

scholarly journals The Soviet Press of the Great Patriotic War about the French Squadron “Normandie-Niemen“

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Galina N. Kaninskaya ◽  
Natalya N. Naumova
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Air Force ◽  
World War ◽  
Military Alliance ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Military

The article is devoted to the participation of French pilots of the Normandy squadron in battles on the Soviet-German front as part of the Red Army in 1943-1945. After the defeat of France at the first stage of World War II (1940), the occupation of its territory by Germany and the organization of the Resistance movement “Fighting France” in London by General Charles de Gaulle, the pilots joined him expressed a burning desire to fight the enemy in the skies over Soviet soil. Their participation in the ranks of the Soviet Air Force was a unique event in the history of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union (1945-1945). The article analyzes the information of the Soviet press during the war years about the French squadron “Normandie-Niemen”, which fought in the Soviet Air Force on the Soviet-German front. It is shown that Soviet readers during the Great Patriotic War could get a very complete and reliable idea of the military exploits of French pilots, find out the names of heroes, get acquainted with the military everyday life of officers, appreciate their patriotism and sincere friendly feelings for the Soviet Union and its people. Along with stories about the air battles of the Normandy, the articles of Soviet correspondents contained information about the history of France, how the pilots reacted to the defeat of their country, how and where they fought in the first stage of the Second World War. The press of the war years gave brief sketches of the everyday life of French fighters on Soviet soil, about the curious events that happened to the pilots of the squadron. On the example of newspaper publications 1943-1945. about the military alliance of our and French pilots, you can get an idea of how the cooperation of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition developed and strengthened.

scholarly journals The Origins of the Communist Rule in Eastern Europe: A Brief History

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azlizan Mat Enh
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Karl Marx ◽  
World War ◽  
Distribution Of Wealth ◽  
The People ◽  
Communist Ideology ◽  
Balanced Distribution ◽  
History Of

The history of communist rule is long and varied. Communism as a ruling system emphasizes on economy and balanced distribution of wealth and ownership of property among all the people. This system originated from the ideology of Karl Marx in 1845. Communist system in Eastern Europe was fostered by Soviet Union after the fall of Nazism at the end of World War II. This paper focuses on how the Eastern European states fell under the influence of Communist after World War II. It discusses how salami tactics were used by Soviet Union as one the methods to establish communist government in Eastern Europe. It also shows that Soviet Union’s position as a super power in Eastern Europe enabled her to spread communist ideology in the region.  

scholarly journals “The October Revolution is Still Shaking Our World”: Italians on the centennial anniversary of 1917

2021 ◽  
pp. 10-25
Author(s):  
Olga Golechkova
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Public History ◽  
World War ◽  
Modern Politics ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Centennial Anniversary ◽  
The Revolution

This article analyzes an isolated case within the framework of trend of jubilee mania – recent centenary celebration of the Revolution of 1917 in Italy. The author believes that many historical events reappear on the horizon when assigned to play an important role in modern politics. The article describes how the Italians view the Revolution and how it helps to explain modern Russia. The research is carried out within the framework of methodology of public history. Having examined a wide variety of sources (online articles, articles in newspapers and magazines, scientific writings, information on the congresses and conferences, exhibitions, concerts, etc.), the author attempts to demonstrate how the Russian revolutions are reflected in the Italian public opinion. The conclusion is made that the Revolution plays an important role not only in modern Russia, in Italy as well. The latter believe that the Revolution is still present in their culture and politics, correlates with their own path of political history of the XX century, including the powerful Movement for the left that emerged in the country after the World War II. At the same time, Russia did not give due attention to celebration of the centennial anniversary, focusing rather on the victory over Hitler, since this event projects the glory of the Soviet Union onto the modern Russian Federation.

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